Sean Combs Leads Four Black Artists as World’s Highest Paid Musicians

Fellow American Beyoncé ranked second, while Canadian artists Drake and The Weeknd rounded out the top four.

REUTERS

December 7, 2017

(Reuters) — Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was ranked the world’s highest-paid musician on Wednesday in an annual list that saw Black artists take the top four spots.

Combs, who is also a hip hop producer and entrepreneur, earned an estimated $130 million for the year, according to Forbes, mostly from his Bad Boy Family Reunion tour and the sale of his Sean Jean clothing line.

Fellow American Beyoncé ranked second, with earnings estimated at $105 million from her Formation world tour and hit album “Lemonade,” while Canadian artists Drake ($94 million) and The Weeknd ($92 million) rounded out the top four.

British band Coldplay pulled in an estimated $88 million to take the No. 5 spot.

Forbes compiled the list after estimating pre-tax income for the 12 months from June 2016 to 2017 based on interviews with managers, agents, lawyers, interviews and data from Pollstar, the Recording Industry Association of America and tracking firm Nielsen (No. 32 on the DiversityInc 2017 Top 50 Companies for Diversity list).

Last year’s top two artists — Taylor Swift and British boy band One Direction — both slipped out of the top 10 this year. Swift did not tour this year and released her latest album in November, while One Direction are on hiatus as its members pursue solo careers.